US Independence Day 2014: Inspirational Quotes to Commemorate Fourth of July

Two girls salute while posing for a photograph in front of the field of United States flags displayed by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund on the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts May 24, 2014 ahead of the Memorial Day holiday May 26.Reuters

People in the United States are gearing up to celebrate the American Independence Day on the Fourth of July. The country was born on 4 July, 1776, when 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence to mark their separation from Great Britain.

One of the founding fathers of America, Thomas Jefferson, drafted most parts of the Declaration of Independence which was later signed by John Hancock, the president of the Second Continental Congress. His famed signature was so stylish that the term 'John Hancock' became synonymous with the word signature in the country.

Fourth of July is the most popular holiday in the country and is a day of great celebration for all Americans. People across the country wait for this day to watch the spectacular fireworks that light up the night. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association's estimation, more than 14,000 firework displays illuminate the skies of the US on July 4.

It is also a day for hot dogs, grills and barbecues. According to a report, Americans consume around 155 million hot dogs on this day alone.

Here are some great quotes on freedom and liberty that IBTimes UK has compiled to celebrate the day.

1. "Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment." — George Washington (in his Farewell Address)

2. "How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" — Thomas Jefferson

3. "Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth." — George Washington

4. "Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty." — Samuel Adams

7. "Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity." — Herbert Hoover

8. "Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society." — James Madison

9. "We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." — William Faulkner

10. "I believe in America because we have great dreams, and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true." — Wendell L Wilkie

11. "This land is your land, this land is my land, from California, to the New York Island, from the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me...." — Woody Guthrie

12. "For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?" — Ralph Waldo Emerson

13. "I think of a hero as someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." – Bob Dylan

14. "Free, only want to be free, we huddle close, hang on to a dream...." — Neil Diamond

15. "There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free or you are not free." — Walter Cronkite